Submitted by Meghan Paulus on the 2019 winter session study abroad program in Australia sponsored by the School of Nursing…
During my second and final week with my study abroad group, we experienced much that Sydney had to offer. During our tour of the country, we traveled to the Blue Mountains where we not only got to experience the nature of Australia, but also the story behind the land. We traveled to the Three Sisters Rock Formation within the Blue Mountain range and worked with our tour guide to discern different aspects of the area. This time was special to me because I not only got to experience more than just the cityscape, but I also was able to learn more about the Aboriginal people that inhabited the lands in Australia about 50,000 years before the British arrived.
Our tour of the mountains was very informational and we learned much about the Aboriginal people. For example, the Aboriginal people have a holistic view of health which includes the health of their land and family as major components of a healthy life. By learning more about these people, I was better able to connect their culture and historical land rights to the current health crisis these people face as generations of the population have been discriminated against and displaced from their ancestral home, as well as their families.
During our tour of the mountains, we were told the story of the Three Sisters rock formation. This rock formation holds the legend of an Aboriginal Family. A father, his daughters, and an arrogant warrior symbolize the formations. The warrior was meant to wed the daughters, but their father was wary of the warrior’s arrogance. He refused to let the warrior marry his daughters which led to a duel. The warrior outmatched the father in strength, but the father was wise and used magic to turn them all into rocks, so his daughters would be safe. This story not only provided insight into the lives and culture of ancestral Aboriginals, but also made the viewing of these rock formations incredibly interesting as well.
Once the tour of the mountains concluded, we were able to reflect on our newfound experience by connecting what we had heard, to our past experience the week before about acknowledging Aboriginal people and the affect their marginalization has had on their health.